Media
Response to Gulf crisis puts South Africans at risk
Ofentse Donald Davhie
06 March, 2026
Country’s tolerance for uncertainty in citizen protection abroad is dangerously undefined
Public sector growth masks private firms’ struggles
Chris Hattingh
24 February, 2026
Youth unemployment is staggeringly high at 68.3%
SA’s reliance on external tailwinds is risky
Chris Hattingh
23 February, 2026
There is a danger that politicians will leave growth barriers unaddressed
US political risk for South Africa persists despite Congress gridlock
Ofentse Donald Davhie
22 February, 2026
US extraterritorial reach is emerging as a major political risk for South Africa in 2026 and beyond, with potential to influence government policy and commercial operations through sanctions, trade restrictions or bilateral reviews. South African stakeholders should remain vigilant.
Silencing the Guns? SA’s leadership amid persistent fire
Ofentse Donald Davhie
21 February, 2026
While the 39th Ordinary Session of the African Union (AU) Assembly met in Addis Ababa on 14-15 February 2026 under the banner of “Assuring Sustainable Water Availability and Safe Sanitation Systems to Achieve the Goals of Agenda 2063,” President Cyril Ramaphosa faced a bitter irony at home amid Johannesburg’s acute water shortages, and days earlier in his State of the Nation Address, the announcement that the South African National Defence Force would deploy alongside police against gang violence and illegal mining in the Western Cape and Gauteng.
Agoa uncertainty harms wine sector
Ofentse Donald Davhie
18 February, 2026
America’s imposition of tariffs on wine exports highlights the mounting pressure facing the industry (“US tariffs squeeze South African wine exports as costs surge”, February 17). More importantly, it raises the broader issue of the absence of a durable trade framework between South Africa and the US.
Can SA take advantage of shifting global tides?
Chris Hattingh
10 February, 2026
The latest World Economic Forum meeting in Davos, Switzerland, produced a stark, necessary contrast between two emerging philosophies of foreign policy and of geoeconomic strategy.
Trump without a mandate, but not without power
Ofentse Donald Davhie
30 January, 2026
United States President Donald Trump returned to the White House in January 2025 after one of the narrowest victories in US history, the sixth-closest presidential contest.
Higher duties on imports won’t fix auto industry
Chris Hattingh
29 January, 2026
Protection may save jobs short-term but ignores deeper cost and competitiveness problems
ANC’s Iran posture is undermining SA’s national interests
Ofentse Donald Davhie
22 January, 2026
South Africa’s foreign policy decision-making is increasingly becoming a reputational risk for the country, particularly its relationship with the Islamic Republic of Iran.
Politics behind BAT plant closure
Ofentse Donald Davhie
20 January, 2026
Political inaction fuels business instability
